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Harelip (Chapter)
(< Previous Chapter) - (Next Chapter >) Cal's POV "It pulses, my lady. Roughly every... eighteen seconds so far as I can tell. There are occasional deviations," said an old bookish-looking man in a large well-lit library. A blonde woman with green eyes, a harelip, and an Iresman's smile looked up at him from a large chair, curiously saying "you mean to tell me that the black star twinkles?" "Aye, my lady. It ...'twinkles,' like a normal star. Well, not like a normal star. It becomes blacker, yet brighter." "Hand me the spyglass Judus," she said. "Aye my lady." She peeked her eye through it, staring directly into the star. "Looks to be rotating... tell me when a minute's come up," she commanded, tossing the old man a pocket watch. He wordlessly agreed to do so. "1... 2... 3... 4..." "It's been one minute my Lady of Sayerburn." "Right. So... it does about four- almost five! - rotations in one minute." The old man nodded as she handed him the spyglass. He cleared his throat, and began speaking, "Sir Mirlin used an old camera to snap a photograph of the black star, my lady. At least this is what we've been told by some of the farmhands. Shall we dispatch some soldiers to confiscate it?" "Aye, been wanting my own camera for couple of years now. Duke used to have one, but I broke it when trying to tamper with the damned thing. Have the soldiers dispatched posthaste." Judus signalled a servant at a nearby doorway, and turned back to the duchess. He smiled. "Aye, I remember my lady. Lord Beyoss had a certain fondness for 'old' technology." "And he was right for it, I'd say," she responded with a small smile. "You're dismissed, librarian." Judus bowed, "Lady Calthoss." Calthoss peered at her notes. In the few hours since it appeared in the sky due northeast, the black star had quickly become a pet project of hers. It was now very nearly dawn. Interestingly, the black star remained perfectly visible the whole night. 'This reeks of tallmen. The same kind of black star was seen over Wheeltonne around 29th. No reports of the black star ever described it as being this large. Learned men from the Arm of Crahia described it as being the same size as a normal star. That must mean the star occupies some small space to the northeast of Calthoss' Cave.' A terrible thought occurred to her, and she made her way to the second librarian. An old dark-skinned woman. "Yanela, can you serve as postman or must I wait for Judus?" "I can, Lady Calthoss." "Good. Have the dukes informed: there is a lychgate somewhere within my fief." The librarian's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. 'Fear,' thought Calthoss. "Write this down." Yanela nodded, and brought out a quill and scroll. "It's very important that the other dukes are informed of this: 'Should I die whilst investigating the Lychgate - evacuate at once.' Stress that evacuate." Yanela underlined evacuate. "Continuing: 'Duke's Rebellion enters its final stage if I die. A certain stability will remain in immediate aftermath of my death, but the ducal power of Calthoss' Cave is like to wear off if an immediate attempt at overthrowing the King-that-Kills-Kings is not made. We must make for Crowtonne. Continue all appeals to the Duchess Toothtower. The Duchess Calthoss' Cave may die, but the rebellion can not.'" "My Lady are you absolutely certain? Your curiosity is all well and good but is it worth being eaten by tallmen? Would it not be pertinent to evacuate the cave now?" "Aye, perhaps," Calthoss said. "I hereby allow you and anyone in the cave to flee. I appreciate your concern, and your years of service but I will not ask you to die here." "You have my eternal gratitude my lady but I believe that Judus and I are like to die in this library," Yanela said. "I'll do everything in my power to avoid that," Calthoss said. She got up, leaving the library for the nearby storerooms. 'I offer her an out - a mercy I ought say - and what does that stupid Karal do? She spits at it with her pride and 'integrity'' She approached two nearby guardsmen, "ah, Jaharos," Calthoss said, "aye my lady," one of them, a bearded man, responded. "Have the guardsmen gather at the dining hall as soon as possible. Have spears, javelins, harpoons, arrows, blades, oil, and nets prepared." "My lady?" Jaharos asked. "We're going hunting for tallmen," Calthoss said, a smile stretching across her face, making her much uglier. Jaharos tried to hide his fear, and Calthoss' smile only grew. The other guardsmen seemed similarly nervous. "Aye my lady," he said, both guardsmen began marching towards the guardsmen's quarters. "Not you," she said, pointing at the other guard. Calthoss shouted after Jaharos "don't forget, at the dining hall! We gather for prayer!" "Go to the farmhands' quarters. Have them help you take two weeks' provisions to the stablemaster." The guardsman went in the same direction as Jaharos. Servants' quarters were all on the same wing of this floor. She walked upstairs to the stables, which were on the same floor as the chicken coop, and kennel. Walking into the room she took in the raw stench of dragon shit. She walked past the hay, bricks, and stables. Her dragon, Lightning, roused slightly, and peered up at her with his big yellow eyes. She smiled at him. Not a cruel smile. A smile anyone would give their beloved pet after seeing them wake up. She continued walking, approaching a door at the end of the stable. The stablemaster's quarters. She knocked hard, a lordly knock, the kind that spoke of authority, and said "let me in, or else." The stablemaster, her second cousin Majkal Sayerburn, opened up the door disheveled, and tired-looking. "What do you want, Cal?" "Have every horse and dragon ready to ride as soon as possible. The farmhands, and guardsmen can help you if you're taking too long." "What, why? It's 4 in the bloody morning for God's sake," Majkal spoke angrily. "You'll do it or I'll have your hands," Cal threatened, an unseen blade already at his wrist. Majkal resented his position. He was a nobleman, not fit to care for horses and dragons, and scoop up shit. It was better than what he actually deserved though, which was a swift blade to the nape. De-bodying has a way of teach rapists right from wrong. Majkal sighed, "fine, my lady." Calthoss went to the lyft. She took it up a few floors up to Drab Hermitage's dining hall, where the gathered guardsmen were like to be eating soon. Making her way through the grey, stony, nightfire-lit halls of the cave, and Drab Hermitage, she once again encountered Judus. "My lady, Mistress Yanela has just informed me of your plans. I know she already asked you, but are you absolutely certain? The tallmen are not child's play." 'Snitch,' Calthoss thought bitterly. "Aye, I am certain of this. This is not 29th. We know how to kill tallmen. Water and fire. We have the means, the men, and we might be poised to save Armia from thousands of those beasts pouring out from Fools' Point." "A noble plan, fine, but a deadly one nonetheless duchess," Judus said. 'Oh he's angry. He only calls me duchess when he's angry,' Cal thought. The she ''became angry. "You will come with me Judus." Judus' face was immediately gripped with fear. Calthoss hated herself for a second, not because of guilt, but because she almost considered reversing her decision. Judus swallowed. Hard. "Aye, my lady. I pray to us all that we save the Delklands." The two walked into the dining hall. A few of the guardsmen, those who had already been on patrol tonight, were already eating. The cooks hadn't had much time to prepare food so they simply served up some bread, meat, milk, wine, and beer. Cal, Judus, and the head guardsman, Roben, sat up on a dais. Roben had gaudily demanded a more lordly meal than anybody else. Cal didn't like him but could not deny that he was an excellent killer and fighter. She'd allow him his cheeses, white wine, roast chicken, and whatsit if she could rely on him to capture a tallman. Cal ate some pork, and washed it down with some wine. By the time she was done, all forty guardsmen, and some volunteer farmhands were in the dining hall, eating their similarly simple meals. She observed them all. She knew what she was doing was not noble. She was merely trying to satisfy her curiosity, and she was willing to sacrifice the lives of these men to that end. Indeed she was willing to sacrifice both her own life, and the life of her surrogate grandfather. 'As Duke once said, 'anything in the pursuit of knowledge. Once they were all just about done, Cal raised her empty cup of wine, "guardsmen, Roben, Master Judus, today we ride out, to save the Delklands, to save Crahia, and to save Armia!" Cheers erupted from the soldiers. "First a toast:" the soldiers all got up, and raised their cups. "To Calthoss, the Dragon-Beneath-this-Earth!" They cheered to the dark god. (< Previous Chapter) - (Next Chapter >) Category:Tale of Zul Category:Chapters